Revenge of the Diclonius
by Vineman
Summary: Bleach/Rurouni Kenshin/ Elfen lied crossover. Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki and the descendant of a great Samurai, Kenshin Himura, battle a corrupt organization bent on bringing about the end of humanity.
1. Escape

On an island prison off the coast of Karakura town, an alert siren began to ring suddenly. Sitting on top of the roof of his house, a young man with bright orange hair heard the siren.

"What the heck? Man, I hope there's not gonna be any trouble tonight," the man cursed as he stood up and looked out to the island, "I wonder what's going on in that place. Come to think of it, I don't even know what that place is."

….

On the island, far inside the installation, a door that was supposed to have been locked at all times stood wide open. Inside, two guards looked at a large, steel cage in the middle of the room. The cage was being blown outwards as though it were being torn apart by invisible hands. In the center of the cage a woman stood calmly, a large panel behind her was littered with the remains of broken restraints as the cage broke. Her body was covered by a thin, white jumpsuit and her face was hidden from view by a metal mask, but long pink hair hung out from underneath it. The men both drew pistols and opened fire on the woman, but an invisible force blocked the bullets as the cage was ripped apart. Outside in the hallway, three more security guards listened to the terrified screams of the men inside. They backed away as the woman alone emerged from the room, her jumpsuit stained with blood. One of the men was too close and was suddenly cut through as though an invisible sword had just passed through him. He fell dead instantly.

"What the heck," one of the soldiers stammered.

"Keep your cool. We're safe as long as we stay more then two meters away from her," the soldiers commander ordered.

"Yeah but… weren't we supposed to keep objects away from her too?" the man asked as a pen from the dead man's pocket suddenly began to float into the air. The two men yelled as the pen suddenly flew at them like a rocket.

….

Elsewhere in the installation, a woman with long brown hair wearing a secretary uniform walked down a hallway carrying a cup of coffee on a tray. She was obviously trying desperately to keep from accidentally spilling the coffee. Her efforts turned out to be in vain as a tall, muscular man with spiky black hair wearing a red headband and a white t-shirt under a long white coat. The Japanese kanji for 'bad' was printed on the back of it.

"Sanosuke! You brute, I'd tried so hard to make that coffee just the way Mr. Kurama liked it too," the woman whined as she began picking up the pieces of the now broken cup, "oh, that was his favorite cup too."

"Put it on my tab, Sae, I've got more important things to worry about right now, and you should be getting to an evacuation chopper yourself!" the man, Sanosuke, shouted back.

"Evacuation chopper? Why, has something happened?" Sae asked.

"Just get out of here and let me worry about that!" Sano shouted as he kept running.

"What a jerk," Sae sighed, "now I'll have to make another cup of coffee for Mr. Kurama, and what am I gonna do about his cup? Oh, his wife gave him this."

….

Near the installation's exit, a strike team of over 20 men had already assembled preparing to take down the woman who was attempting to escape the base. Standing just behind the men was one of the directors of the installation, a man with unruly black hair dressed in a business suit and wearing glasses, Doctor Kurama.

"Hey, Kurama, I guess she hasn't gotten this far yet," Sanosuke shouted as he ran out to the hallway from a side entrance, "is it who I think it is?"

"She's the only one I know who would try something like this while Mr. Himura is on the island," Kurama replied, "there's no doubt about it. It's Lucy."

"Darn it," Sano cursed, "where is he?" Just then, the sound of screaming and gunshots from behind the door reached their ears. It continued for only a short while before it fell completely silent again.

"Looks like I'm going to be earning my pay today," Sano declared as he cracked his knuckles. A fearful quiet fell over the strike team as the door suddenly began to open. The woman stood in the open doorway, the bodies of three men lying beside her. Her jumpsuit and mask were covered with blood and a single cold, merciless eye could be seen glaring at the team.

"It's her alright," Sano sighed, "Lucy…"

"Shoot her," Kurama ordered as the men shouldered their rifles. Lucy just continued to glare at them and Sano braced himself for the worst. No one could have guessed what would happen next as a side door near Lucy suddenly fell open, dropping Sae onto her back right at Lucy's feet, a tray of cookies and coffee flying out of her hands and drenching Lucy in hot coffee. "Sae?" Kurama stuttered, "hold your fire."

"Oh, Mr. Kurama, I'm sorry, first I broke your favorite cup and now this," Sae said apologetically as she began picking up the scattered cookies.

"Sae, get out of there, right now!" Sano shouted.

"Huh, what's wrong Sanosuke?" Sae asked, obviously unaware of the violent girl who glared down at her.

"Lucy! Don't do it!" Sano pleaded as Sae looked back at the frightening woman behind her, her eyes widened with fright as the girl stared down at her.

"Hiten-Mitsurugi style!" a voice suddenly shouted from behind Lucy, causing her emotionless eye to widen with surprise, "Ryusosen!" the voice shouted as Lucy leapt to the side away from Sae as a man with dark red hair tied in a long pony tail landed beside the secretary. The man was a strange looking man, dressed in a purple kimono and baggy white pants. He held a sword out in his right hand, which was extended as though he had just swung the sword. Rising to his feet, he turned his head and faced Lucy, his dark blue eyes glowing with anger. An x-shaped scar was carved into his left cheek.

"Kenshin," Sae sighed in relief.

"You've certainly done your part Ms. Sae. I believe spilling coffee on her is the best shot anyone has gotten in on Lucy in quite some time, that I most certainly do. However, I believe you should stand back now and leave the rest to me," Kenshin declared as he turned to face Lucy, "It's been a long time, Kaede, that it has. Although, unless I'm wrong, you go by Lucy these days. You're the only Diclonius at this facility I have not been allowed to at least talk to once since the dasy you were brought here. I'd been hoping to be able to speak to you again, but I had never imagined it would turn out like this."

"Kenshin… Himura," Lucy hissed angrily at the man.

"I see you've at least remembered my name. I'm glad to hear that, that I am. However, that does not change fact that I cannot allow this slaughter to continue. If we fight here I'm afraid that more innocent lives will be lost, so I'd rather we go outside, that I would. However, if you simply can't walk away without taking lives now, then I will acknowledge that the Kaede I know is dead and gone, in which case I will not hesitate to strike you down with my Reverse-blade sword, that I will not." The two figures stared at each other for what seemed to the onlookers like hours before Lucy turned and began to walk away.

"You never change," Lucy declared coldly, "I'll end your life outside then, it makes no difference to me." She began to walk towards the guards who all prepared for a fight. "Move aside, I don't have any interest in you," she declared as she kept walking.

"Do as she says, if you attempt to attack her then I cannot guarantee your safety," Kenshin ordered as he followed Lucy, "Sano, keep everyone inside until this fight is decided."

"You got it, Kenshin, I'll leave this one to you," Sano replied as Lucy and then Kenshin walked past him, approaching the exit. As Lucy approached the door, a metal blast door suddenly slid closed behind her, trapping her inside.

"Well done, Kenshin. Even she can't break through those doors," Kurama declared.

"Something isn't right here, Kurama," Kenshin replied, "it seems to convenient that Lucy's bonds happened to malfunction when we happened to be short-handed. If I hadn't been here, your facility would have suffered far more casualties, that it would have."

"I'm not sure what could have happened, but we'll look into it," Kurama replied.

"You do that, but while you do, open that door and allow Lucy and myself outside. I promised her the opportunity to try to kill me, that I did, and I don't break my promises," Kenshin replied.

"What? But Kenshin, we…" Kurama protested.

"Sir, something's wrong," a soldier suddenly reported, "we just got word that the door outside has been opened!"

"What! How!" Kurama shouted.

"Now it would seem I'm our last chance of getting Lucy back under control, that it does. I need to hurry before she escapes the island, or many innocent people will suffer," Kenshin declared.

"Grr, open the blast door and send for a sharpshooter!" Kurama ordered another troop.

"Yes sir," the troop replied as he went to carry out the order.

….

A short while later, Lucy was approaching a cliff on the edge of the island. She intended to jump into the ocean and swim for the nearby Karakura town. It was ironic that after so long, she'd be returning there.

"I believe you said you desired to end my life, that you did. You weren't planning on leaving before you followed through with that, were you?"

"So, you've come out after all. I was beginning to think you were afraid," Lucy declared.

"I have no reason to be afraid of you, Lucy, that I don't," Kenshin replied.

"I suppose you intend to finish this in one shot and use Amakakeru Ryū No Hirameki," Lucy declared, "I only wish that I could kill you in the same place I met you years ago."

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, that I don't. The grounds of this place are indeed the first place I set eyes upon the heartless killer named Lucy. I do not view you as the kind and misunderstood Kaede I knew when she was a child, that I do not," Kenshin declared.

"Is that so? Honestly, I don't care," Lucy declared, "I'll kill you either way." She began to turn her head so she could face Kenshin just as a gunshot was heard from a tower near the installation. Kenshin watched with dismay as Lucy's metal mask shattered as the bullet passed through it, knocking the girl off of the cliff. Kenshin could only see the girls beautiful face for a few seconds before she fell off of the cliff, but that second was enough for him to spot the two horn-like protrusions that marked her… as a Diclonius.

….

Back at his own home in Karakura town, Ichigo Kurosaki woke up in a cold sweat. "What was… that spiritual pressure I sensed just now?" he gasped as he looked out his bedroom window.

**Bleach **and **Rurouni Kenshin**

**Revenge of the Diclonius**

**Ending Theme: ½ (Rurouni Kenshin)**


	2. Nyu

**Bleach **and **Rurouni Kenshin**

**Revenge of the Diclonius**

**Opening Theme: ½ (Rurouni Kenshin)**

"Sir, we've inspected the malfunctioned restraints in Lucy's cell. It seems that they were deactivated intentionally," a soldier reported as Kurama sat behind his desk, looking over several reports.

"Has Kenshin been informed of this?" Kurama asked.

"Yes sir, Mr. Himura has been informed. Sir, you don't think that Mr. Himura…" the soldier began to ask.

"Kenshin's past with Lucy is irrelevant. Kenshin is not the type of man who would endanger innocent lives just to free a girl he once knew. This wasn't his doing. Where is he right now?" Kurama inquired.

"He's completing his visit. I believe he's with number 23 right now. After that, he intends to board a helicopter… and fly straight to Karakura town," the soldier replied.

"Karakura town. I suppose there really is no other place she can go from here is there. If Lucy really did survive that fall, then a clash between her and Kenshin in Karakura town is unavoidable now."

….

Elsewhere in the facility, Kenshin sat quietly upon a bed, looking at the solid white wall at the other end of the room. Of all the ones to have escaped, it had to have been her. Kenshin wondered if he'd have the strength to do what needed to be done this time.

"I wonder if she will go after his cousin as she swore to on the train… no, I don't think that's her plan. With any luck, she'll try to go back to the way she was living before, trying her best to stay out of the public eye, but I doubt that that'll be the result, that I do. Kaede is Lucy now, of that I don't doubt. She's far more violent than the girl I used to know."

"Uncle Ken, is something wrong?" he was snapped back to the present by the voice of a young girl sitting next to him. Like Lucy, her hair was long and pink, but a darker shade, however she only looked to be a little over half Lucy's age. Also like Lucy, she was clad only in a thin white jumpsuit and had a pair of horns growing from the top of her head.

"My apologies Ms. Anna, I didn't mean to space out, that I didn't," Kenshin replied, "I just have a lot on my mind tonight, that I do. Now, what were you showing me?"

"This one," the young Diclonius replied holding up a card. A deck of them were clutched in her other hand and she was handling them quite carefully, as though they were very precious to her.

"Ah, that's right, Captain America is one of your favorites, isn't he. You know, they just made a movie for him not long ago, that they did. I'll get the DVD and bring it with me next time so you can watch it, that I will."

"Really! You mean it!" she shouted happily.

"It's a promise, now, I'm sorry Anna, but I have much to do tonight, so I'll have to leave you now," Kenshin replied.

"Ah, do you really have to leave already, Uncle Ken?" the girl asked sadly.

"I'm afraid so, but don't worry. I'll be back again very soon, that I will," Kenshin replied as he stood up and walked towards the door, "be a good girl until then, alright Anna."

"Alright, Uncle Ken, I promise I'll be good," the girl replied as she put away her cards and waved to Kenshin, smiling happily. Kenshin chuckled and waved back as he walked out of the room and the door slid shut behind him.

"The things they do to these girls here is inhumane. I wish there was more I could do to help them. I can certainly understand why Lucy would do what she did, that I do, but still… I can't help but worry about what is going to happen now that she is free."

"Hey, Kenshin!" Sano shouted running up behind him, "you done with all your visits?"

"That I am, Sano," Kenshin replied, "I'm heading for Karakura town now."

"I'm coming along too," Sano revealed, "and don't try to stop me. I can't stand being around this place when you're not here. You should see what this place's director puts these girls through when you're not on the island."

"I'm painfully aware of what happens when I'm not here, Sano," Kenshin replied, "Kakuzawa will get what's coming to him soon enough, that he will, but that time isn't now unfortunately. However, your help in Karakura town will be appreciated. We need to find Lucy as fast as we can, before she can cause any harm. I only hope that we aren't already too late.

….

In Karakura town, a boy stood alone at the top of a set of stone steps, staring down at the ocean. His name was Kouta and it had been over 8 years since he had last set foot in this town. He only wished that he could remember more about it now. He was so entranced by the water of the ocean, that he didn't notice anyone below him until a girl's voice caught his attention. "Kouta! There you are Kouta!" the voice shouted. He looked down the stairs to see a cute girl with short brown hair running up the stairs towards him. "You were supposed to wait at the station for me! Why didn't you?"

"Huh?" Kouta replied, "uhh, do I know you?" This reaction seemed to surprise the girl, whose eyes widened with shock and dismay.

"Kouta… you haven't forgotten me, have you?" the girl asked, obviously hurt by the fact that Kouta didn't seem to know who she was.

"I'm sorry, but I really don't know who you are," Kouta replied again.

"Kouta… how could you…" the girl began to cry.

"Hey, Yuka!" a voice called from the bottom of the steps, attracting Yuka and Kouta's attention. They both looked down to see Ichigo Kurosaki standing at the bottom of the steps, "I didn't expect to see you here. Is this the cousin you were talking about?"

"Ichigo!" Yuka exclaimed happily.

"Ichigo?" Kouta repeated the name as though it were familiar.

"You're Kouta, right? We met before, but we were both pretty young when we did, so I'm not surprised if you don't remember me. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. I went to school with Yuka, though I'm a couple of years younger then she is. She told me you were coming here to go to college with her, so I thought I'd stop by your place later and see if you remembered me. Didn't expect to bump into the two of you before that though. Yuka's been looking forward to seeing you. She hasn't stopped talking about you since she found out you were moving here."

"Ichigo! Stop, you're embarrassing me!" Yuka shouted angrily, "besides, Yuka doesn't even remember me."

"Wait, he doesn't remember you?" Ichigo repeated, _that's odd. I thought these two were close. I wonder if this has anything to do with Kouta's father._

"Wait a second, you're my cousin?" Kouta replied, "as in Yuka, my cousin?"

"Yes, as in Yuka, your cousin who you were supposed to meet at the train station, but you wandered off!" Yuka replied angrily, "luckily, I had a pretty good idea of where you'd come, since you always liked to come here and look at the ocean."

"I… did?" Kouta replied, "I'm sorry, I really don't remember much about the last time I was in this town."

"Well, I think we figured that out already," Ichigo sighed.

"Kouta…" Yuka sighed sadly, "I know, maybe you'll remember if we go down to the beach. You always liked to go there when you were here last!"

"Go down… to the beach? Sure, I guess that'd be alright," Kouta replied.

"Alright, then, oh, but first, I almost forgot, I'm supposed to show you to your new house," Yuka remembered. She seemed a lot happier then she had been a moment before.

"New house?" both Ichigo and Kouta asked at the same time.

….

A short walk later, Ichigo, Yuka, and Kouta stood outside the Maple House. "This is… where I'm gonna be staying?" Kouta asked.

"He's gonna live here by himself? It's bigger than my place," Ichigo declared, his face showing obvious surprise.

"It used to be a restaurant, but it went out of business a while ago. My parents bought it, and they said it'd be alright for you to live here, as long as you clean it once a week," Yuka revealed.

"So basically, Kouta's your parents free caretaker, then," Ichigo said.

"Wait, you mean… once a week I have to clean this whole place all by myself!" Kouta exclaimed, "how many rooms are there in this place!"

"Uhhh, let's see, I think there are… 17?" Yuka replied, though she didn't sound certain at all.

"Seventeen!" Kouta exclaimed.

"Well, look at the bright side, at least you don't have to pay rent," Ichigo replied.

….

Back at the island installation, Kurama was overseeing a training simulation being given to a soldier. The soldier was proving himself to be extremely skilled, easily overcoming every obstacle in the simulation.

"Impressed Mr. Kurama? I doubt that even Battosai the Man Slayer could hold a candle to Bando in a one-on-one fight," the soldier's commanding officer declared confidently.

"It makes no difference whether or not this man can defeat the Battosai or his descendant, Mr. Himura, Colonel. I need him to be able to kill Lucy. That's what you men have been called here to do, after all," Kurama replied.

"I doubt that one little girl is going to give my men any trouble," the colonel replied as a buzzer sounded warning that Bando had just lost points in his training, the reason being that he had intentionally shot at a target representing a civilian.

"Bando!" the colonel shouted angrily.

"Shut up, I'm sick of this training," Bando replied as he rested his weapon on his shoulder and began to walk out of the training room, "when do I get to shoot something that can actually scream?"

….

At an airport in Karakura town, a Helicopter had just landed. The door opened as Kenshin Himura and Sanosuke Sagara climbed out.

"Karakura town. It's been quite a while, that it has."

….

Down by the ocean, Kouta, Ichigo, and Yuka were walking along the beach together. Yuka was watching Kouta out of the corner of her eye while Ichigo watched them both. _I wonder what Yuka wants Kouta to remember so badly. Which reminds me, didn't Kouta have a little sister. I wonder what happened to her._

"I remember this place…" Kouta said, stopping suddenly and looking down at the ocean. Ichigo was surprised by the sound of his voice, which sounded as though he were recalling a painful memory. "This… this is where we gathered seashells… me and Kanae."

"Seashells?" Yuka repeated, "that's right, I remember that too."

_Kanae, that's Kouta's sister's name, _Ichigo thought to himself.

"I'm sorry I didn't remember you earlier, Yuka," Kouta said apologetically, "honestly, I… I don't remember much of what happened before Kanae… got sick."

_She got sick?_ Ichigo thought.

"What do you mean… before Kanae got sick?" Yuka asked.

"Huh? Well…" Kouta replied. Ichigo waited for the explanation, but before it could be given, he felt a cold and powerful spiritual pressure that was very nearby.

"What the hell is that?" he accidentally said aloud.

"What's what?" Yuka replied as she and Kouta looked down the beach in the direction that Ichigo was looking. Standing about ankle deep in the water, was Lucy. Her pink bangs hid her eyes from view, but her two horns were visible and the ocean water had cleaned the blood from her jumpsuit, leaving it only slightly stained. "What do you mean 'what the hell is that'? Ichigo, you can be pretty rude sometimes. It's just a girl. Although, I wonder what she's doing out here so late and all by herself. Do you think we should go talk to her?" Yuka asked.

"I don't think that'd be a good idea," Ichigo replied, "I've got a bad feeling."

"A bad feeling? Ichigo, it's just a girl," Yuka declared, "fine, whatever. I'll go talk to her myself," she declared walking towards the girl.

"Wait, Yuka!" Ichigo shouted.

"Relax, Ichigo. I think you're just overreacting," Kouta declared, "come on, let's go with Yuka."

"Wait, Kouta! Ah, darn it!" Ichigo shouted as Kouta followed Yuka who was just reaching the girl. Reaching down to his waist, Ichigo grabbed his Deputy Soul reaper Combat Pass.

"Excuse me," Yuka said kindly, as the girl rose her head to look at Yuka, "are you alright? It's really pretty late and it's kind of cold out here tonight to be in the water. You'll catch a cold." The girl just stood and stared at her, completely unresponsive. "Umm, can you hear me?"

"YUKA! KOUTA! GET OUT OF THERE NOW!" Ichigo shouted as loudly as he could which caused the girls eyes to open wide.

"Nyu!" the girl wailed fearfully as she turned and tried to run away from Ichigo.

"What the…" Ichigo said.

"Hey, wait!" Yuka shouted as the girl tripped and fell face first into the water, "Ichigo, you scared her!"

"I scared her!" Ichigo replied, _but that spiritual pressure… where did it go all of the sudden? _He wondered as the girl knelt up and began to cry.

"Oh, now she's completely soaked," Yuka sighed, walking out into the water to where the girl was kneeling, "excuse me, where do you live? We should really take you home."

"Nyu?" was the girl's only reply.

"Nyu? Is tht all you can say?" Kouta asked.

"Nyu… Nyu," was the reply.

"I think it is," Yuka replied, "I wonder if something's wrong with her."

"What do we do now?" Kouta asked.

"We can't leave her here. She'll freeze to death. I guess we'll just have to take her back to your house and find her some dry clothes," Yuka replied, "we can figure out what to do with her from there."

"What! Why my house!" Kouta responded.

"Your house is the closest place we can go," Yuka replied, "let's just take her and find her some dry clothes to wear. Whatever this thing that she's wearing is, it's completely soaked. I'm sure she'll be fine… as long as Ichigo doesn't scare her again."

"What! Hey, wait a minute, I…" Ichigo protested, but Yuka and Kouta were already heading back down the beach, with the frightened girl following them. "Whatever, see if I care." _That girl didn't seem bad, but I still can't shake that strange spiritual pressure I felt when we first found her. _Just then, there was a flash of lightning, and Ichigo felt several drops of water hit his head. The next thing he knew, it was raining.

"Huh… I wonder where this came from," he wondered as he looked up at the sky.


	3. Sadness

**Bleach **and **Rurouni Kenshin**

**Revenge of the Diclonius**

**Opening Theme: ½ (Rurouni Kenshin)**

Kenshin looked up at the sky as the first rain drops hit his head. Within minutes, the rain was pouring.

"Great, not only are we chasing the most insane diclonius imaginable, but now we have to do it soaking wet," Sano complained, "talk about bad luck."

"I suppose. Honestly, I don't mind the rain, that I don't," Kenshin replied, "it reminds me of better, simpler times."

"If you say so. Well, we're not getting anywhere just standing here. We'd better get looking for Lucy," Sano declared.

"Yes, I suppose we should," Kenshin declared.

….

Unknown to them, the now amnesiac Lucy had just made it back to the Maple House with Kouta, Ichigo, and Yuka.

"Man, this rain just came out of nowhere," Kouta declared.

"Doesn't look like it's gonna end soon either," Ichigo said, "man, what a pain."

"I guess we'll just have to stay here until it clears up. Ichigo, will you help Kouta unpack?" Yuka asked.

"Huh? I guess so," Ichigo replied, "how much stuff has he got?"

"Oh, I don't have very much," Kouta replied, "but what do we do about her? Shouldn't we do something to find where she lives?"

"Nyu, Nyu," the girl began to shout frantically on Ichigo's sleeve and began to fidget.

"Huh? Something wrong?" Ichigo replied.

"We don't even know her name," Yuka declared.

"Maybe it's Nyu. I mean, that is all she's been saying this whole time," Kouta replied.

"Nyu, huh?" Ichigo replied looking at the still fidgeting girl, "will ya hold still for a minute? You're name isn't Nyu, is it?"

"Nyu! Nyyyuuu!" she shouted, this time sounding desperate.

"She seems to like the name, so I guess Nyu it is," Yuka replied.

"I don't know," Ichigo replied looking at the girl who wouldn't hold still and was looking at Ichigo with a pleading expression. Ichigo's eyes suddenly lit up with surprise as realization dawned on him.

"Aw crap! Yuka, where's the bathroom!" Ichigo shouted suddenly.

"Huh? I swear, you have no manners Ichigo," Yuka replied, sounding a little irritated, "you should ask…"

"No time, I'll find it myself!" Ichigo shouted grabbing Nyu's hand, "come on Nyu!"

"Ichigo! You can't take that girl to the bathroom with you!" Yuka shouted angrily as Ichigo took off past her.

"Nyuuuuu…" Nyu suddenly said from around the corner. Her tone had become less distressed and sounded as though she were relieved of something.

"Ah man, not on the floor!" Ichigo shouted.

"What!" Yuka and Kouta both exclaimed.

….

Ichigo stood with a mop, a clothespin over his nose as he cleaned up the mess that Nyu had made.

"Man, how the heck did I get stuck cleaning this up? It wasn't my fault Yuka wouldn't tell me where the bathroom was, but I guess Yuka was going to help that girl clean up and Kouta does need to unpack. Still…" he sighed as he finished mopping up Nyu's mess.

….

Off the shore of Karakura Town's beach, a special police chopper was speeding towards the beach, carrying the Special Assault Team Kurama had summoned to eliminate Lucy. Bando sat impatiently while his superiors briefed the soldiers on the situation.

"Remember, your target has an unidentified weapon with an effective 2 meter kill radius, so keep your distance. Furthermore…" the officer continued with the briefing.

"Will you just shut up already," Bando ordered, "when're we gonna get to the beach?"

"Hold your tongue, Bando. We'll be to the LZ in 15 minutes, after that, we'll…" the officer began to continue.

"I don't care about the LZ, just drop me off on the beach. I want to get started hunting this little witch," Bando replied.

"Bando, you can't just…" the officer began to protest, but silenced himself when Bando glared at him.

"I don't need to listen to these annoying briefings. The only thing I need to know is that I've gotta kill her before she kills me,and that's what I intend to do," Bando replied, "now let me off. I wanna get this show started."

….

"Man, that was disgusting," Ichigo declared as he walked into the room where Kouta was unpacking, soon followed by Yuka and Nyu, who was now wearing a t-shirt and a pair of shorts.

"Well, she's all clean now," Yuka declared, "Kouta, I hope you don't mind, but I had to borrow some of your clothes. That thing she was wearing would be better off in the garbage."

"Huh? Oh, no, I guess it's alright," Kouta replied as he pulled out a very ornate box. Ichigo noticed that Kouta's expression became sad when he looked at the box, so decided to ask.

"What ya got there?"

"Huh? Oh, these are some seashells that my sister and I collected the last time we were here," Kouta replied, opening the box. Several seashells lined the bottom, with a particularly pretty, pink seashell sitting on top of the pile. Kouta pulled that one out and looked at it sadly.

"I'm guessing that one's important," Ichigo observed.

"My sister gave it to me as a gift," Kouta replied sadly, "it was the final gift she gave me, before… before she got sick."

"She got sick?" Ichigo replied glancing over at Yuka. Yuka looked as confused as he was.

"Kouta? What do you mean she got sick?" Yuka asked.

"Well, not long after my father was killed in a car accident, Kanae got really sick. After that, it wasn't long… before she died as well," Kouta replied.

_Wait, I knew his father died, but his sister too… and what's this about a car accident?_ Ichigo wondered.

"This shell… it's the last thing I have of Kanae," Kouta replied sadly, "all I have left… of my little sister." By this point, everyone in the room had their eyes fixed on the shell… including a very curious looking Nyu, who reached over and took the shell from Kouta, looking it over more closely."

"Something wrong Nyu?" Kouta asked. Nyu just grabbed the shell with both hands and snapped it in two, surprising everyone.

"Nyu… what did you…" Ichigo shouted.

"What did… WHY DID YOU DO THAT!" Kouta shouted angrily at Nyu who looked surprised by his reaction, "WEREN'T YOU LISTENING TO WHAT I JUST SAID! THAT WAS FROM MY SISTER! YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO DO THAT!"

"Kouta, calm down!" Ichigo said calmly, "I don't think she..."

"GET OUT!" Kouta shouted angrily at her, "GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW! I want you out of this house right now!"

"Kouta!" Yuka pleaded to late, tears had formed in the frightened Nyu's eyes, and before anyone could do anything to stop her, she ran.

"Nyu, wait!" Ichigo shouted, beginning to chase after her.

"Let her go," Kouta shouted as he looked at the broken shell, "let her go back to wherever she came from. I don't want her anywhere near me."

"You idiot, shut up!" Ichigo shouted angrily, "stop feeling sorry for yourself and wake up! I don't think she did what she did because she wanted to hurt you." He waited for a moment to see if Kouta would respond, but when he didn't, Ichigo turned to leave. "Guess I'll be heading home now," he declared, "I'll see you later, Yuka. By the way, Kouta, if I were Nyu, I probably would have smashed that shell too."

"What?" Kouta replied, surprised by what Ichigo had said.

"You said that shell was the only memory of your sister, right? Then when you look at it, you should be happy you have it, not sad. I'd have to say that Nyu did you a favor by breaking it," Ichigo replied as he left. Kouta was still surprised by what Ichigo had said, and sat silent for quite a while.

….

Once he was outside, Ichigo grabbed his backpack and reached into it, pulling out a small stuffed animal.

"It's about time, Ichigo! I thought I was gonna… bluhh!" Kon complained as Ichigo stuffed his hand into the dolls throat.

"Shut up will ya," Ichigo ordered as he produced Kon's mod soul from the doll and swallowed it. His soul was separated from his body and Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki was ready to go.

"Get my body back home," Ichigo ordered, "I'll be back when I can." With that, Ichigo took off.

"What? Hey, where're you going!" Kon shouted angrily.

….

Kouta and Yuka were still sitting quietly. Finally Yuka spoke. "You know, I think Ichigo might be right," she declared.

"What do you mean?" Kouta replied.

"Nyu… I think… I think she could tell that the seashell made you sad. That's why she did what she did," Yuka replied. She sat silent for a moment to gauge Kouta's reaction before she continued. "We can't just leave her out there in this rain. Come on, let's go find her, before she catches a cold."

Kouta was silent for a moment longer, then stood up. "Yeah, let's go. I bet she'll go back to the beach where we found her, so let's go there."

….

Meanwhile, Bando had already arrived and was patrolling the very same beach with another Assault Team soldier.

"Alright, you little horned witch, I know you're around here somewhere," he declared, searching for Lucy.

….

Only a short distance away, unaware of the approaching danger, Nyu in the sand, the rain mixing with her tears as she searched the shoreline for something.

….

Ichigo continued his search of Karakura town, trying to find the missing Nyu, but had so far had no luck.

….

A short distance from the beach, Kenshin and Sanosuke continued their search, making their way towards the beach where Lucy would have likely washed up.

_It'll only be a matter of time before we clash again, Kaede, and when we do… I wonder what the outcome will be, _Kenshin wondered.

**Ending Theme: Heart of Sword (Rurouni Kenshin)**


End file.
